When painting the fans did you need to take them apart or protect the open side of the hub? I was thinking of doing this but didn't know how well the hub would take it.

I painted my Noctua fans pearl white to match my raven02 and I did nothing to protect them or disassemble. They turned out perfectly, no balance issue or extra noise. I don't know what the professional opinion is on that method but it works for me.

For reference the paint was Krylon Frusion, great product for painting fans.